URBAN
& UPTEMPO: Chicago's Steppenwolf Theater Company is producing
a new work by Kurt Elling that purports to examine, through high-energy
jazz and cutting-edge poetry, life in America's three biggest
cities. This topic is nothing new, of course, but what makes "LA/CHI/NY
- A Journey Through the Streets of America" unusual is that
it actually succeeds in communicating the distinct urban feel
of each metropolis. Chicago Tribune
02/28/01

Tuesday February 27

GUIDING
THE ROYAL SHAKESPEARE: Adrian Noble has been heading up London's
Royal Shakespeare Company for a decade now. Noble wiped out a
£3.5 million deficit he inherited when he took over the company;
for the past 15 years the RSC has earned money on "Les Misťrables,"
a show whose success has "effectively cushioned the RSC from
financial disaster." Now the company is producing another
West End musical with hopes of a hit.The
Guardian (London) 02/27/01

Sunday February 25

SECOND-CITY
SUCCESS STORY: It's not as if Chicago theatre ever went anywhere,
but with high-powered theatre districts popping up all over the
country in recent years, the Windy City was, for a time, in danger
of becoming somewhat complacent. No more: a slew of new buildings
and revitalized companies are once again making Chicago a drama-lover's
dream come true. Washington Post 02/25/01

TWAIN
BOUND FOR BROADWAY: Let's be honest: Mark Twain probably would
have hated the Broadway musical. He certainly wouldn't have been
able to picture his rural, rough-spoken characters kicking up
their heels in full chorus numbers. But, for the second time in
the last twenty years, a Twain classic is being redone for the
musical stage. Hartford Courant 02/25/01

NEW
DIGS: One of the byproducts of the economic boom of the 1990s
was the appropriation of countless millions of public and private
dollars for arts groups seeking to upgrade or replace their performance
space. Next month, the historic Berkeley Repertory Theatre moves
into their new home, and the change will reportedly be breathtaking.
San Francisco Chronicle 02/25/01

Thursday February 23

LAGS
AND WALLAHS: The London theatre's most prestigious awards
- the Oliviers - are to be given out tonight, but the judges and
host for the event are under attack. Critics have called judges
for one category "old showbiz lags and free ticket wallahs."The Independent (London) 02/23/01

Wednesday February 21

FEAR
OF THE NEW? "Next Friday in London, this year's Olivier
Award for best director will go to a play first produced in either
1981, 1957, 1947, 1904 or 1879. Given the chance to strut their
stuff, to examine their times, to challenge the establishment,
these directors have dutifully ploughed their energy into what?
Revivals; classics. What's wrong with them? Are they so scared
of new plays?"The Independent
(London) 02/21/01

PASSAGE
TO INDIA: All things Indian are suddenly very hot in London
right now. Even Andrew Lloyd Webber is putting together a "Bollywood
epic called Bombay Dreams. Over in Covent Garden, the Royal Opera
is a developing a Bollywood version of Turandot. But why here,
and why now?"The Guardian (London)
02/21/01

Monday February 19

END
OF ACTING? Is the actor an endangered species? "I think
the first big leading indicator was baby boomers' abandonment
of live theater. This is an overstatement, a gross generalization,
but it's also true: for cosmopolitan people of my parents' generation,
experiencing live actors on stage was an obligationóa kind of
secular humanist sacrament in a way that it simply isn't for people
who came of age in the 1960s and 70s. Younger people tend to find
live theater too intimate, too unmediated, too real, too creepy."PublicArts 02/18/01

Sunday February 18

THE
IMPORTANCE OF POLITICAL THEATRE: There's been a recent surge
of political theatre in Britain. This after a long period when
it seemed to disappear. "Does the decline of political theatre
matter? Desperately, I would say. I am not claiming it is the
sole function of theatre to analyse government and society. But
if drama withdraws from engagement with the public world, it is
inevitably diluted."The Guardian
(London) 02/17/01

IN-YER-FACE
ON THE OUTS? In the past five years shock theatre has been
a constant presence on the London stage. " 'In-yer-face theatre'
is the best way of describing this type of drama, which uses explicit
scenes of sex and violence to explore the depths of human emotion.
Characterised by a rawness of tone, it is aggressive, confrontational
and provocative." But maybe its time is passing. The
Telegraph (London) 02/17/01

THE
SUCCESSFUL MUSICAL: What makes successful musical theatre?
Is it the score or is it the book?New
York Post 02/18/01

Friday February 16

FAIR-WEATHER FANS: Andrew Lloyd-Webber, whose musicals
have generally been dismissed by theatre critics as unchallenging
and pandering to the masses, picked up his first London Theatre
Critics Circle Award Thursday for "The Beautiful Game."
"There was, however, a sting in the tail. For while the press
were won over by the story of love across the Ulster , the public
turned on him. Only 3% in a poll of 6,500 West End theatregoers
thought the musical worthy of the award."The Guardian
(London) 2/16/01

THINK YOUNGER: The Sydney Festivalís new director
Brett Sheey announced his strategy for putting his own stamp on
the annual arts event by attracting younger audiences with bold
programming - a philosophy that differs dramatically from his
predecessor. "It was no secret that Leo's great loves were
opera and Western classical music; my great loves are theatre,
dance and contemporary culture - multimedia, hybrid arts and those
fusions which are reflective of the 21st century."Sydney
Morning Herald 2/16/01

Thursday February 15

SLAMMIN':
Poetry slams have been around for at least a decade, and are even
considered passe in many cutting-edge poetry circles. But even
as the slam breathes its last in smoky basement clubs around the
country, it is becoming a hit in the venue perhaps most well-equipped
to supply the medium's insatiable need for fast-paced,
high-energy poetic performance: high schools.San Francisco Chronicle
02/15/01

UP OR DOWN?: Dublinís Abbey Theatre is on the
brink of announcing a major redevelopment scheme, but not until
it reaches a consensus on one of two very different proposals:
redesign the current structure by adding on three storeys, or
relocate to a site across the River Liffey? "Not since Lady
Gregory opened Ireland's first National Theatre in 1904 has the
Abbey faced such a critical choice."Irish Times 2/15/01

LOCALS WEIGH IN: "Anything that helps them
do better. The Abbey is in a shocking state for a national theatre.
They actually have two theatres which are badly designed. There
are people on the Abbey roof in Portakabins."Irish Times 2/15/01

CHICAGO THEATER BOOM: Chicagoís theater world has been
growing steadily since the mid 1970s, when Steppenwolf and several
other small companies established themselves. Now, with five solid
nonprofit productions currently running, all of which are locally
produced and cast, "Chicago's theater exudes independence
and a deserving hometown pride."New
York Times 2/15/01(one-time
registration required for access)

Tuesday February 13

WHY YOU
SHOULD BEFRIEND A SENATOR: It took the intervention of Senator
Christopher Dodd to get it, but the National Theater for
the Deaf has been granted $2.7 million out of the federal budget,
to be paid over the next four years. The theater had lost a large
chunk of federal money last year due to a miscommunication.Hartford Courant 02/13/01

REVIVING
FARCE: In the UK farce has had a bit of a bad name - it is
considered lowbrow and not important theatre. But of late there
has been a rehabilitation of the form. "This is farce for the
21st century. We've gone beyond PC."The
Independent (London) 02/11/01

Monday February 12

VAGINA
POWER: Saturday night "18,000 people were expected to
attend a celebrity-packed performance of "The Vagina Monologues"
at Madison Square Garden, just one of 50 observances nationwide
of V-Day, the anti-violence movement Eve Ensler developed to put
her feminist words into action. This week 250 colleges - including
American, George Washington, Georgetown and Howard universities
- will also observe V-Day (V also stands for Valentine)."Washington Post 02/11/01

ENCOURAGING
THE YOUNG: Are "elderly, reactionary critics" putting young
people off going to the theatre? Director Deborah Warner thinks
so, and she's slashing prices for some of the best seats at her
West End hit 'Medea' to encourage young people to come to the
theatre."The Independent (London)
02/12/01

TROUBLED
ACTORS' UNION: "The Screen Actors Guild is undergoing
revolutionary changes; some call it turmoil. Age-old relationships
with the franchised agents, with AFTRA, and with regional branch
offices, seem on uncertain ground. Some of the guild's top leaders
are making exits. The financial situation is a bit rocky. Partisan
rivalries continue to fester. And all this is taking place on
the eve of another serious contract negotiation. Furthermore,
as many guild leaders admit, communication with members and with
the media has been lacking."Backstage
02/12/01

Sunday February 11

TRYING
TO NEUTRALIZE THE CRITICS: "The Bells Are Ringing"
is currently playing in Connecticut before heading to Broadway.
But producers, perhaps fearing the kind of critical storm that
harmed "Seussical" earlier this season, have announced
thta critics are not welcome at performances. "The reason
given is that the producers don't see the Stamford run as an out-of-town
tryout. It's part of its review-free Broadway previews, they say,
as though that fabled strip extended through Harlem, the Bronx
and into Connecticut." Hartford
Courant 02/11/01

THE
MAKING OF A LEGEND: Edward Albee was proclaimed a genius early
in his career, then knocked down until his success in 1991 with
"Three Tall Women." Now he can do no wrong. "Why
this change of critical heart came about, I'm not quite sure.
Perhaps it's because there's a new team of reviewers in place,
guys who do not have a vested interest in demanding that Albee
repeat the much-admired 'Virginia Woolf' ad nauseam."
New York Post 02/11/01

Friday February 9

THEATRE
IN SOUTH AFRICA: "The South African government has drastically
reduced arts spending. Government subsidy for European cultural
expressions no longer exists. Whatever the reasons for this, whether
to help promote an indigenous African culture or to punish those
who voted against the ANC, in Cape Town the policy has already
resulted in the loss of the city's opera company, ballet company,
and symphony orchestra. The theater still survives after a fashion,
partly because it can still draw on private funding."The New Republic 02/12/01

Thursday February 8

HARE ON TOP: David Hare is one of Britainís
most prolific and political playwrights, and his plays are being
produced in record numbers by regional theaters on both sides
of Atlantic. Somehow he manages to tackle big subjects, yet retain
a devoted audience of audience and critics alike. "Hare proves
that you don't have to be banal to be box office."The Telegraph (London) 2/08/01

THE
ALBEE CYCLE: Edward ALbee has been writing plays so long he's
had time to go out of fashion and then come back in. On the crest
of his back-in-fashionness, what to make of his latest play? Don't
be fooled - it's not in the same league as the earlier masterpieces.New York Observer 02/07/01

Wednesday February 7

SOMETHING IN THE WATER? What is it that makes Irish plays
so different from English ones? And how is it that such a small
country has produced so very many world-class playwrights? "It's
extraordinary. There are fewer than 4m people in the Republic
of Ireland. But in the past century we've produced Synge, O'Casey,
Shaw, Wilde, Joyce, Beckett, Friel, Tom Murphy, Billy Roche, Sebastian
Barry, to name a few. Their plays have shaped the way people think
and are performed all over the world. Why the disproportion?"
The
Guardian (London) 2/07/01

HEIR APPARENT: Director Michael Grandage (currently
associate director at the Donmar Warehouse) is seen as a likely
successor to Trevor Nunn, if and when Nunn vacates his seat at
Londonís Royal National Theatre. "I believe in doing what
you want. If I'm not passionate about a play, why should anyone
else be?" The Guardian
(London) 2/07/01

Sunday February 4

RETHINKING
THE SECOND STAGE: It used to be that every theatre wanted
a second stage, a black box. "Today, in a changing artistic
and economic climate, companies of all sizes are rethinking the
old equations. Many larger companies are moving away from the
mainstage/second stage dichotomy. It's an important issue for
audiences, since the kind of theater they see - or don't see -
depends to a large extent on the size and nature of the available
architecture."
San Francisco Chronicle 02/04/01

LIFE
AND DEATH THEATRE: "Theatre has shot itself in the foot by
giving in to this cult of success, status and glamour. Theatre
has been taken down this glitzy route that has destroyed its validity
and truth. Will there be any theatre in 10 or 20 years' time?
Every other art and entertainment medium is engaged in a life-and-death
struggle with new technology and the multiplying distractions
of contemporary life. Theatre, meanwhile, is examining its collective
navel."Sunday Times (London)
02/04/01

GIVING
IN? London's Globe Theatre is going to cut and trim its Shakespeare
for children next summer. The director "feels teachers fail
to prepare school parties and schools make Shakespeare boring.
Disruptive children had forced him to limit the number of schools
attending performances. Instead, the Globe will mount abridged
productions of Macbeth, devised solely for schools, with a narrator
to help children to follow the plot."The
Independent (London) 02/03/01

THEATRE
IN THE FUTURE TENSE: In South Africa it's hard not to make
theatre that reacts to the country's recent political past. But
"a new generation of writers and performers each in their
own way are approaching being South African in a way that is enriched
by new-found freedoms. They are exploring new ways of being and
discarding a theatrical approach that relies exclusively on reacting
to the past or on seeing the present purely in terms of being
a victim of the past."The Independent
(South Africa) 02/03/01

MODEL
ENTREPRENEUR: 88-year-old Donald Seawell worked as a counter-intelligence
agent, wrote speaches fpr Roosevelt and Truman, produced Broadway
plays and published the Denver Post. Last season he took considerable
risks to produce a 12-hour production of "Tantalus"
that drew theatre lovers from all over the world. Now he's helped
bring the production to London...The
Guardian (London) 02/03/01

LA'S
A TOUGH SELL: "Los Angeles' relationship to classical
theater--the Western canon generally thought to include everything
from Greek tragedy to vintage Americana, with emphasis on such
giants as Shakespeare, Ibsen, Shaw and Chekhov - has always been
different from that of other major cities." In short, it's
a tough sell.Los Angeles Times 02/04/01

Friday February 2

THE
REMARKABLE SHUBERTS: With $188 million in assets and its fingers
all over Broadway, New York's Shubert Foundation is a force to
be reckoned with. One of the foundation's crowning achievements
was the deal it worked out with the Internal Revenue Service to
be able to run its commercial theatre empire and still remain
a non-profit.The Idler 02/02/0